Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Offer Resisters One More Item

When a customer successfully resists temptation to buy an item, offer them one more opportunity to make a purchase in that product category. According to researchers at Columbia University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, your chances of making a sale through the second offer are substantially greater than if the customer had not resisted the temptation.
     This technique is useful only when the customer gives clear evidence of having struggled with the purchase decision. The reason the selling technique works has to do with pride and guilt. When a shopper resists the temptation to buy, they have a sense of pride, and any feelings of guilt fade away. The shopper's will power is weaker because it's just been used, and the shopper thinks they deserve a reward for enduring the stress of having to exercise their will power.
     Analyze why the shopper resisted the temptation and find another item they are likely to be interested in which does not naturally arouse the same sorts of temptations. If the customer says, "This kitchen appliance would sure make my cooking easier. but I'm not going to buy it until I have a large kitchen to put it in," suggest another kitchen labor saver which is at least 20% smaller. I say 20% because there is some evidence a difference must be about this large for the consumer to notice it when making purchase decisions.
     Don't present more than one additional offer unless the customer asks. In some shoppers, the relief from yielding to the temptation for the smaller or less expensive item puts the shopper into a frame of mind to buy lots more. But if the one additional offer is rejected, you don't want to risk alienating a customer into yelling, "When I say no, I mean no!"

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